Bisou Bisou, it’s the French Society!
Written by Natasha Fernandes
Thumbnail Photo by SMU French Society
France is known for its rich culture, fashion, delicious crêpes, baguettes, and without a doubt, the city of love, Paris. According to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, the French language is considered the second most widely known foreign language globally, with almost 120 million speakers. When you think of France, does the Eiffel Tower come to mind first? If yes, then I can relate. But there is so much more to learn from the extensive French culture.
The French Society at Saint Mary’s University is a new society where students interact with each other and bond over French culture, cuisine, language, and music. The French Society began in September 2020, right at the cusp of the pandemic’s second wave. They welcome everyone, and there is no requirement to know French to join the society. All you need to have is the interest to learn about France and its vibrant culture. I had the opportunity to interview the French Society’s co-presidents: Yingjun Chen, a fourth-year student majoring in French with a minor in International Development Studies, and Summayah Chotoye, a second-year student majoring in Chemistry. They gave me an in-depth perspective of what the French Society offers and how students can benefit from being a part of this close-knit society.
Despite being a relatively new society, the French Society has already had two successful events: the “Speak Dating” and the “Coffee Shop Talk.” The Speak Dating event was an hour-long event on Zoom. Students were divided into different breakout groups and interacted with each other about movies, Christmas-related themes (as the event was around Christmas time), and music. The SMU French society executives explained the rules and instructions to follow in the breakout rooms in English and French. The Coffee Shop Talk event was similar to the Speak Dating one as well; students were encouraged just to join over Zoom and relax while engaging with others about books, songs, movies, etc.
Given that the French Society is brand new, I was curious about why Summayah and Yingjun decided to start a contemporary society in a virtual world. Many societies still look at this virtual shift as a horror story that has come to life, especially when it comes to promotional aspects. Hence, I wanted to know the reason behind this brave decision, what challenges they faced, and how they overcame these boundaries. To which, Summayah said:
“It was Yingjun’s idea first [of creating a French society] since we realized that there was no French Society at SMU, and we both wanted to promote French culture. We started because of that, but what strengthened our resolve was realizing that no one else will take this step if we don’t do it. We did not think about the disadvantages, to be honest. I have zero experience being an executive of any society; hence, I did not think about the potential challenges we could face by starting a society on a complete virtual platform. Some apparent disadvantages are that it is much harder to get people to engage because people are just tired of being online. But the biggest advantage I would say is that the events are much easier to plan. We do not have to worry about any restrictions, and funding is no more an issue, which is amazing since we are fairly new and do not have that much money to spare.”
Through our conversation, I realized how refreshing it is to start something from scratch with no fear or inhibitions. Summayah and Yingjun began their society with a clean slate and with no preconceived notions. What sets this society apart is that they do not experience “the virtual shock” that other campus societies went through. There was no sudden change, and they could plan their events to fit their needs perfectly. Both Summayyah and Yingjun emphasized that their inexperience allowed them to dive in headfirst with no fears and just confidence. They did not let an unfamiliar environment stop them but instead decided to embrace this change and use it to their advantage. As Yingjun said:
“Even though it was online, we tried to use all our connections. I would go around emailing professors from all majors to promote our society and ask them to promote our events on Brightspace. We asked SMUSA and other societies to promote our events. We started from zero, and now we have amassed quite a following. It may not be a lot to some, but for us, it was a huge achievement. We are willing to grow every day.”
The French Society’s main motto is to have fun together and learn something new each day about French culture, cuisine, music, movies, and so much more. Yingjun mentioned that she is always open to students’ suggestions and advice about new events or activities they should host because she feels that we are all learning and growing, and there is no need to place barriers on the path of growth.
With the topic of being on the way to change, I asked Yingjun and Summayah if they could name one executive member who has withstood the challenges and has contributed to the society’s growth; Summayah mentioned the membership coordinator, Dhooleesa Joorawon. Despite joining mid-semester, Dhooleesa has managed to fulfill her tasks, including brainstorming with the event coordinator, keeping a tab on the membership fees, and linking the members and the French Society’s executives. Also, simultaneously tackling the time zone difference, which is eight hours ahead of Halifax! I reached out to Dhooleesa to learn more about her experience being an executive member, to which she said:
“The experience of being a member coordinator helped me understand how a team works. This will be very useful to me in the future as I am a science student, and for any experiment, we need to know how to work as a team. Also, as we are in a pandemic, it helped me meet new people. Even with the other members of the executive team, we all come from different backgrounds. Still, we all share the same passion for the French culture, and I get to do all these fun activities with them while simultaneously learning from everyone. This experience helped me during tough times, and even if we could not meet in person, we still had a great time together.”
Another executive member who did remarkably well, according to Yingjun, was Sebastien Perrine, the social media coordinator, responsible for the fantastic graphics on the society’s Instagram and Facebook pages. Yingjun mentioned how Sebastien creates all the illustrations from scratch, allowing the event page to look more original and exciting. I got in touch with Sebastien to learn a little bit more about his experience and what his work ethic is all about, to which he said:
“My work process when creating a post is to understand what the “theme” or the idea behind the event is and then choose an aesthetic which will relate to the theme and try to make it look presentable. The skills I have gained by being a social media coordinator directly reflect my academic management, socialization, communication and even creativity. It helped me become more aware of my surroundings and to develop a clearer mindset. I have learned to pay more attention to detail and understand what the team wants and work towards achieving it.”
Sumayyah wanted to thank the entire executive team for supporting the French Society so effortlessly and ensuring good communication. She mentioned that the executive team was given the assignment of sharing a post about anything relating to the French culture every week for this semester. This activity helped the team get closer while educating the public about France’s various monuments and statues.
As Yingjun is graduating soon, the French Society is hiring new executives to join the team. What makes this the perfect society for new students is that the French Society is exceptionally welcoming and encourages students with no experience to join. It does not matter if you have a French background or not; the only thing that matters is whether you are passionate to learn more and are ready to take on a leadership role. As Yingjun emphasized:
“The SMU French Society is looking for students who have the desire to lead even if they may not have any experience to back them up. We all start from nothing; nobody has ten years of experience. That’s impossible! This opportunity would be great for their [students] future development and widen their horizons. I just wanted to make this position accessible to everyone with no pre-existing biases.”
Since the French Society is small, the responsibilities are not too heavy to carry. Summayah did mention how there are no strict deadlines, and the work environment is significantly ‘chill’ and relaxed. As compared to other prominent societies, the executive team here is compact, which allows the team to work closely and share responsibilities more efficiently. The co-presidents emphasized that all they are looking for are students who will handle their duties with a good work ethic.
To apply for an executive position, you can reach out via email for more information and the steps to apply.
The French Society belongs to students who have successfully stepped out of their comfort zone to achieve their goals. Yingjun mentioned how she started this society because she always loved the French language and wanted to learn more about the culture. Still, none of the active campus societies met her interests. Hence she made one on her own. Despite not getting a robust initial response to their events, the team continued to work hard without giving up, and the results performed in their favour.
Suppose you are looking for the perfect niche society that is not extraordinarily demanding but at the same time allows you to build your communication and networking skills. In that case, this is the society made just for you! So what is stopping you? Grab a croissant and begin your journey in becoming a true Francophile!
P.S: If you are a member or an executive of a campus society at SMU and would like to feature at the SMU Journal and have your opinions heard, you can email me at fernnash15@gmail.com, and we can have a chat! I want to know more about your experience with societies here on campus, so reach out!